The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-07-29
ALIEN OWNERSHIP.


WASHINGTON, July z2-The following b
the text Of the Attorney-generaPs opinion
with regard to the act to restrict swner-
ship Of real estate In the Territories 70
American citixens:
10 tie President:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON. May
O.-A reply to your inquiries must be derived
from In Interpretation Of the act Of March On
titled IAN act to restrict the ownership Of real
estate in the Territories to American citisens.
and SO forth" The inquiries arc: First, was
the act intended to apply and does Il apply TO
mines; second, can aliens lawfully acquire, cwn
and hold shares or stock issued by IN American
corporation which Is the owner Of mineral lands
In the Territories: third, would the advance
ment of money by aliens for the purpose Of
developing mining property be lawful under the
act: fourth can aliens lawfully contract with
American owners for working mines or making
any proper use OF mineral lands for Q term Of
years.
The first section Of tho act forbids alisns who
have not declared their intention to become citi.
Gems Of the United States and alien corpora
tons ITO hereafter acquire, hold or own real
estate SO hereaft"r acquired or any interest
therein in the Territories Of the United States
or in the District OF Columbia" except in the
cases enumerated In the exception and proviso
to the section. The second section forbids the
operating, holding or owning Of such real estate
hereafter acquired by any corporation or asso
citation in which more than 70 per cent. Of the
stock il owned by persons, corporations or asso-
Citations not citizens Of the United States.
The third section forbids corporations other
than railway, canal or turnpike companies to
hereafter acquire, hold or own more than 5000
acres Of land hereafter acquired. and limits
railway. canal and turnpike companies in their
acquisition TO such lands rs may be necessary
70 the proper operation Of their roads, canals
and turnpikes. The fourth section provides for
forfeiture OF the property for violations Of the
provisions Of the act.
The property forbidden to be acquired. held
or owned in the first section II "real estate OF
any interest therein" The term real estate
every estate that may be inherited which IL
annexed arises out OF or Is exercisable therein.
This term embraces agricultural, mineral,
desert and timber lands and town sites alike.
The phrase ANY interest therein" Is some
what ambiguous. 1t might bear the con-
struction that o lease for years Is An
interest in land and land is real estate, there
fore lease for years IL an interest in real e.
tate. 1t admits OF another construction, viz:
That the words "any interest therein must re-
fer to On interest in real estate; that lease
for years on any estate less than freehold In
land IL not real estate but chattel real and IL
20 known in law; that the word therein
refers to what in law IL known ~ rerl estate,
and as lease for years IS not SO knows 1t does
not include lease. In this view Of the act the
term would signify any proportionate part o.
interest In what il known In law as real prop
erty which Is such would pass at the death Of
the ancestor to the heir and not to the admins
TRAITOR or executor.
II WAS not the purpose of tho law to change
the policy of the Government to such an extent
! as to exclude immigration, and forbid to n
\ ill., Sci L. ~
territories Of the Government, and the District
Of Columbia. Yet the first construction sug
gested would effect that result. Under 1t the
owner OF property in the District Of Columbis
could not lawfully lease, even for month, .
dwelling to one not citizen. The alien emf
grant to the Territories who had hoped and in
tended. as citizen in the future to make his
home there, could not lawfully obtain build
ing in which to shelter his family. Such CON.
siderations rs these enforce the view that the
latter construction is in accordance with the in
ent of the legislatio n and that bona fidc leases
are not attended to come within the inhibition
of the act.
The exception to the first section relieves
from its provisions such real estate or interest
therein as may be acquired in the ordinary
course Of justice in the collection Of debts con
tracted before the passage Of the act. but those
provisions attach with full force TO debts con
trncted since its passage.
The expression in the second section mo cor
poration shall hereafter acquire or hold or OWE
any real estate hereafter acquired relates to
all future operations Of any corporation in real
estate. in the Territories or District Of Colum
bia. It does not divert any rights now existing
nor preclude American corporations from hold
ing real estate now owned by them even al
though more than 20 per cent Of theii
stock may be owned by other than citi
zens, but In case more than twenty per cent
of their stock now is or At any future time
should be held and owned by others not citizens
or American corporations, while such per cent
OF stock is so held and owned no further acquisi
tion can be made Of real estate BY any such cor
| poration. The net does not deny the right OF
| American owners to borrow money from aliens:
nor to secure such loans on real estate, but IN
the event Of u sale on q future loan, the alien
! creditor could not ut such sale become q puf
| chaser.
1 Therefore reply to the inq uiries submitted as
follows: First As to mines and real estate o,
Unbeatable interest in real estate the act does
| not apply to them. Second. A. stock in corpora
ton is personal Al alien can lawfully have, OWL
| and hold such stock issued by an American cor
| poration which is now the owner Of m!nera
| lands in Territories, but II the holding by
| aliens exceeds 20 per cent such corporation
| can neither acquire, hold own nor hereafter 40
quire real estate, while more than 20 per cent
| der the oct the advancement Of money hereafter
| by aliens for the purpose OF developing mining
property is lawful, but no interest in the rea
\ estate can be acquired by such advancement
nor would any alien have the right to purchase
the real estate, nor any interest therein on o
| loan made since the passage Of the act, even l.
sold on his own security or lien. Fourth, Aliens
| may lawfully contract with American owners
| to work mines by personal contracts for hire
or by bona fide leases, for . reasonable time.
| am, sir, with respect.
| A. H. GARLAND, Attorney General
|
Hoffman Hanged.
NEBRASKA CITY, Neb., July 22-Honman
slept well last night, retiring at eleven and
| good breakfast and heard the death war.
rant without tremor. His brothers took
their farewell half an hour before the exc
cution. 1t was heartrcnding and Hoffman
broke down at the last, but raj
lied as soon as they left. AT
| 1920 the process sion for the scaffold left
the cell, with the ministers holding Hoff.
man by each arm. As he went on to the
scaffold his gait was unsteady, and when
asked what he had to say he broke down
and said nothing. He took his place on the
trap, trembled like . leaf while be ing tied
and the cap was adjusted. At 1924 the
| tIHp WAS sprung anu LuS UOOy lCll. AAtct
| several commissions all was over. The body
was cut down in fifteen minutes.
The crime for which Hoffman was hanged
was the wrecking OF q train by misplacine
a rail on the Missouri Pacific about one and
. half miles of Dunbar. Neb., January II
/ last, by which the engineer, James De-
witt, was killed and the conductor terribly
| injured.
| Claims Too Much.
| WASHINGTON, July 2-The Commits.
i siouer of the General Land ONCE has com.